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Sunday, February 04, 2007

Vegan Chic

There has been a spate of articles recently covering the growing vegan movement and its fashionablity. The New York Times alone has run two articles in just the last few weeks (one on vegan chef Isa Moskowitz). There are several stores in Manhattan catering to the movement such as Organic Avenue, Mooshoes, Kaight, and NY Artificial. Vegans have been around for a long time - the Vegan Society (and the word itself) originated in 1944. The philosophy involves dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals. This includes more than the obvious - purists eschew animal products including meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, fur, leather, wool, pearls, mother of pearl; by-products such as gelatin, lanolin, rennet, and whey; items derived from insects include items such as silk, honey, beeswax, shellac and cochineal. Some even avoid items which use animal products in the manufacture even though none is in the product itself (cane sugar that has been filtered with bone char; beer or wine clarified with albumen, animal blood, or isinglass). What's new in all of this is the new chic ethic surrounding the whole movement - it's being embraced by a number of groups - the fringes (punks, goths etc.), college students and an upscale market with celebs like Natalie Portman, Alicia Silverstone, Woody Harrelson, Joaquin Phoenix and Stella McCartney. The collage of photos was taken at Mooshoes - a new shop on the Lower East Side featuring vegan shoes, clothing, cosmetics, books and videos/DVDs. In a way I am not surprised at all, since everything seems to be about pushing the envelope, thinking out of the box, living on the edge. Things are just getting more and more extreme. But there is still a little ways to go - I actually have a few older books on fruitarianism and breatharianism ...